[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 18, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S13459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ORDER OF BUSINESS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, if I could say to Senators here assembled, 
we have some matters we need to take care of to wrap up for tonight. I 
see Senator Grassley is here, Senator Hutchinson, and Senator Sessions. 
If I could ask through the Chair to each of them, if they wish to speak 
in morning business before we adjourn tonight, I will try to get some 
time for each of them to do that.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?
  Mr. REID. I am happy to yield for a question.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I have to assume that after listening to you and after 
listening to Senator Harkin, you don't want to hear another point of 
view on this issue in conformity.
  Mr. REID. I didn't say that.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. I would like to speak before you speak.
  Mr. REID. What I would do, to inform the Senator, I will go through 
the wrap-up and then just indicate how much time each of you wish to 
speak tonight.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Then let's leave it this way. You are doing exactly 
what I said. I won't say anything, but I resent your saying that we are 
stalling on this side when I was here to offer an amendment even at 
this late date. You told me less than an hour ago, no more amendments. 
So have the record show that the Senator from Iowa, the senior Senator 
from Iowa, was ready to offer an amendment and go through a time.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I say to my friend, who is the senior 
Senator from Iowa--and I have the greatest respect for him--we have 
been on this bill for a long time. People can go through all the 
machinations they want, saying they were ready to offer amendments. The 
fact is, we voted on cloture on two separate occasions. It has been 
opposed. We are going to do it again tomorrow. The fact is, we had 
other votes to do tonight.
  I actually was contacted by the assistant minority leader, and he 
asked that we not have another vote. I agreed with that. I felt it was 
time to wrap things up. It was about 22-to-9 then.
  As I told the Senator from Iowa, when we were not speaking publicly, 
but I will say this publicly, no one has ever questioned the work ethic 
of the Senator from Iowa. He has been, since I have been here, one of 
the first to get here and always one of the last to leave. No one 
questions the work ethic of the Senator from Iowa. I want to make sure 
the record is clear in that regard.
  Does the Senator from Arkansas wish to speak tonight?
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. If I could have 5 minutes.
  Mr. REID. And the Senator from Alabama?
  Mr. SESSIONS. Ten minutes.

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